July 10, 2017

5 Books for Educators

5
Books for Summer Reading

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I
absolutely love reading books! My summers are scheduled with books that I
have been collecting all school year! I
never have time to really devour a book during the school year. I may read a book each night for a few
minutes before I pass out, but it’s not like during the uninterrupted time of
June and July when I can finish a book in a
couple of hours.

There
aren’t many genres that I care to read.
If someone shares a book and it’s fiction I tend to shy away from
it. It’s just not my favorite
genre. I really enjoy non-fiction,
especially if it deals with history or social issues. I save my fiction for movie watching!

Here
is a list of books that I think are very helpful for educators no matter what
stage of your career you’re in.

Pushout:
The Criminalization of Black Girls in School by Monique W. Morris

This
book will have you walking away in disbelief if you have never heard of the cases
Ms. Morris describes in the book. It
explains the school to prison pipeline for black girls via zero tolerance
policies that have been put in place. Black girls are being criminalized in the
place where they should be receiving an education as well as help to underlying
issues. The author talks about the
struggle of African Americans female to receive an education while dismissing
stereotypes that society holds. It’s a
very enlightening read because so much focus has been put on black males that
we tend to forget the impact of incarceration as it relates to black
girls.

I
loved this book so much that I used its tenets to create a product for my
classroom morning work. Mr. Clark is the
founder of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. There was a TV movie made about his life as an
educator. The book talks about the 55
guidelines or rules for interacting with others. This book made my list because I am a
believer in teaching character education to students along with geometry,
reading, and learning about matter. The
book discusses things like having self-respect and how we treat others. These are things that many students do not
receive at home. You many not need to go
through all 55 lessons but it’s a great starting point.

This
book is non-fiction but it had me in tears throughout until I came to the end. The premise of the book is that there is now
a new caste system which replaces the Jim Crow laws of old. The author goes through the history of
America and its racism towards people who aren’t of European decent. She also compares mass incarceration to Jim
Crow. The United States’ incarceration
rate is the highest in the world.
Alexander also discusses how the War on Drugs is a complete charade. When you read this book through the lens of
an educator, you have a new understanding of why it is so important to make
sure that children of color have an excellent academic foundation.

This
book is very inspirational and had me ready to stand on chairs and shout once I
finished reading it. It was all about
student engagement. I think this was the
book that renewed my spirit for teaching.
Burgess offers practical
techniques and innovative ideas that helped transform me as an educator. I
think this is a great read for new teachers but a must read for us seasoned
teachers that may have lost our way.

I
found out about this book after researching Angela Watson who is the owner of
the 40 Hour Teacher Work Week Club. I
had heard so many great things about the club I started researching Watson and
fell in love with her ideas and techniques.
I submitted a video and was awarded a scholarship to take part in the
club. I’m all about working smarter and
not harder and enjoying my workday because it will help alleviate stress. If that’s you, this book should be your next
read. I’m such a book nerd that I have
to take notes while reading. I’ve almost
written my own book with all the notes I have taken from this book. It’s full of practical ideas and advice that
can be implemented right away to get your passion back for teaching and make
your day more efficient.

Whatever you read during your summer break should be something that grows you
as an educator but will also relieve the pressures that we go
through as teachers.